AVONDALE, Ariz.  Jeff Burton and Denny Hamlin were strong in Sunday's Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, but they were no match for Jimmie Johnson, whose team turned in precisely the performance it needed.

Hendrick Motorsports drivers in general, and Johnson in particular, have come to expect that at Phoenix International Raceway.

A week after losing 111 of his 184-point lead in the Sprint Cup standings, Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet was spotless, leading 238 of the 312 laps to more than keep teammates Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon at bay in the standings and close in on an unprecedented fourth consecutive Cup title.

It was the fourth win in the last five races at Phoenix for Johnson and the sixth consecutive victory at Phoenix for a Hendrick car. Gordon started that streak in April 2007. Martin, now 108 points behind in the Chase for the Sprint Cup with one race remaining, won at Phoenix in April.

"Exactly what we needed," Johnson said. "We knew this would be a great track for the 5 (Martin, who finished fourth) and also the 24 (Gordon, ninth). There was a lot of pressure on us to do this, and I'm very proud of how we delivered. We certainly could have been beat down (after last week), but we bounced back strong."

Crew chief Chad Knaus liked the confidence and attack mode of his crew at the track. He also praised the team back at the Hendrick shop in North Carolina.

"I was really proud to show up the way we did," Knaus said. "Those cars left the shop a week ago. We took them right out to the track without any prep time. So a lot of credit goes to the guys from the Hendrick Motorsports home facility."

Hamlin, eighth in the Chase, could only admire.

"We had a good day — finished where we usually do at this racetrack," said Hamlin, who settled for third for the fourth time in his last seven starts at Phoenix. He said the biggest difference between his Joe GibbsToyota and Johnson's car on the flat, 1-mile track is handling.

"Jimmie just has a tremendous arc into the corner," Hamlin said. "Of course, I tried to do that, (and) my car just would not respond to doing that. They set up their cars evidently to run that type of line."

Hamlin had a feeling Johnson would be particularly tough to beat after crashing on lap three and finishing 38th the previous week at Texas Motor Speedway.

"There was no doubt they were going to come this week and make a statement," Hamlin said. "He is the best, and they are not going to be denied this year."

Burton stormed from the 36th starting spot to finish second, his third consecutive top-10 finish.

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